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This Week
The UNO Mavericks host the No. 9/10 Denver Pioneers on Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3 to conclude their 2011-12 WCHA regular season. The Mavericks magic number to clinch home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs is three. This will be the second weekend of action between UNO and DU. The Pioneers took three of four points from the Mavericks during a series in Denver in November.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 14-14-6 overall and 11-10-5 in the WCHA, putting them in a fifth-place tie with Colorado College with 27 points. They trail fourth-place North Dakota by two points and lead seventh-place Michigan Tech by one point. UNO is 3-9-1 all-time against the Pioneers but lead the series 3-2-0 at home. The Mavs are 7-6-3 at home this year and 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
Denver is 19-11-4 overall and third in the WCHA with a record of 14-8-4. The Pioneers split with visiting North Dakota last weekend, losing 4-3 on Friday before bouncing back for a 5-3 win on Saturday. DU is 7-6-2 on the road this year and 6-3-1 in its last 10.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks lost both home games with Minnesota last weekend by identical 3-2 scores. It marked the first time the Mavericks had been swept in a weekend series this year. On Friday, UNO spotted the Gophers a 1-0 lead after one but got tallies from
Brock Montpetit and
Jayson Megna in the second to lead 2-1. Nick Bjugstad scored early in the third to tie the game, and Jack Parenteau delivered the game winner for UM in overtime.
Ryan Massa made 29 saves in the loss.
On Saturday,
Brent Gwidt scored at 6:05 of the first period, but the Gophers answered back 41 seconds later and got a powerplay goal from Kyle Rau later to lead 2-1 after one. They stretched the lead to 3-1 on another PP tally by Rau in the second, but Matt White closed the gap to a goal with a shorthanded tally midway through the third. The Gophers hung on in the third behind a game-high 27 saves from Kent Patterson.
John Faulkner, in relief of Massa, made 14 saves and took the loss.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his third year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to back-to-back 20-win campaigns. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 317-161-45 (.649) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 55-46-12 (.540). In 2010-11, he was named the WCHA Coach of the Year, the fourth time he's earned the honor. He recently completed his second stint as the head coach of the U.S. World Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year. He spent 10 years as head coach at North Dakota where he led UND to national championships in 1997 and 2000. He is assisted by third-year associate head coach Mike Hastings and first-year assistant coach Brian Renfrew who joins the UNO staff after eight seasons at Michigan State.
George Gwozdecky is in his 18th season at Denver, guiding the Pioneers to a record of 419-250-59 in that time. The 1977 graduate of Wisconsin is 500-344-78 in 23 seasons as a Division I head coach. He is assisted by Steve Miller and David Lassonde.
Media
Friday's game will be televised nationwide on the NBC Sports Network. Ron Vaccaro will call the play-by-play, and Ken Hodge will offer commentary. Both games also can be heard live on 96.1 The Brew.
Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play while Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time online at UNO's iHeartRadio channel, “Mavericks Radio.” Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks await the results of this weekend's action to determine their final position in the standings and whether they will host or travel for the first round of the WCHA Playoffs.
